Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-02-23
EASTERN SHORE.
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NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. on tnc nHhh"1se pt't'"~f
OxASoocK, February u, 1887. :
Information reached here yesterday
that the barn, stables, and carriage
house belonging 10 Rev. John w. A.
Elliott, at Locust Mount, were destroy
ed by fire Friday night. The Gre origi-
mated from ashes that hsd been care
lcssly cmptied in the carriage-house.
A strong southwesterly wind was pre-
vailing at the time. blowing the flames
towards Mr.. Elliott's Westinghouse,
which was saved only by tearing down
The raeat-house that stood between the
dwelling and the carriage-house. Much
Of The furniture was broken and dam
aged in moving il out during the preya-
lence OF the fire. Loss about 500;
no insurance.
Lieutenant Wild, commander OF the
United States revenue marine for this
district, has moved TO Onancock, where
he will have his headquarters IN the
future.
The body of The unknown white man
that was washed ashore some days ago
near the mouth of 0nancock creek was
buried last Thursday by the fishermen
who found it. No coroner's inquest
was held, but several circumstances
render ii very probable that the man
had been foully dealt with. When found
he had on but little clothing a
coarse shirt and sailors rough over
alls. The body was TINT OF a man APP
parently thirty or thirty-five years old,
with red hair and moustache, and 1T Is
supposed from the condition Of the
body that he had been dead fully week
before found. The fact that the body
was found q considerable distance mp
marrow gut--the only entrance to which
III inside Onancock creek-renders 1t
hardly probable thatthe body could have
drifted there from out in the bay.
Two or three letters of inquiry have
been received here from persons in
Baltimore who have missing friends or
relatives, but the matter is still mys-
tery. 1t is believed by some that the
man died or was killed on board of a
dredging-vessel and thrown overheard
near the place where his corpse was
found. The life of the oyster-dredger
is not an easy one, and many heart
rending stories are told of the brutal
treatment to which these unfortunate
men are frequently subjected. 1t is
proper, however, to say that this is not
true of Virginia dredgers.
The death of John Blizzard, who ac-
cidentally shot himself some days ago
while hunting ducks, removes a man
that had become in the last few years
somewhat noted character in this part
of the world. Blizzard was resident
of Somerset county, Md, and used to
keep liquor-saloon in Crisfield, where
he once did thriving business. But
after the adoption of local-option law
there he became the owner OF Fox's
island, q desolate sand-bar in Pocomoke
sound belonging partly TO Maryland
and partly to Virginia. Here Blizzard
established himself in house built
on the dividing line. From this
coign of vantage he boldly detied
the local-option law and ministered to
the wants of the thirsty Marylanders.
Later on, when Accomack also adopted
local option, Billiards. business in
creased rapidly. Being nearer to the
MARYLAND than TO the Virginia shore, he
fitted up boat and stocked it with
liquor. On certain days this boat
would approach the Virginia side and
lie off at convenient distance, when
the VIrginians wonld assemble in great
crowds and row over In canoes to where
the floating bar-room was anchored.
Here they would sometimes carouse all
day, especially on Sundays, when the
Virginia shore would be lined withspeo-
pie and the water alive with canoes 60
ing back and forth between the main
land and Billiards. boat. All efforts
to capture Blizzard proved abortive.
He could easily escape to his island
fortress. where he could defy the Off
GERS of the law for when pursued by
the Virginia authorities he could simply
walk over to the Maryland side OF his
house, and uicc Uers0 when the Mary
land officers were after him. In spite
of all this, Blizzard is said to have had
many excellent qualities and was popu-
lar wherever he was known. A rather
singular coincidence was the sudden
death Of his wife only few days be-
fore he received his mortal wound from
his own hands. She had been over to
the mainland on visit, and upon her
return she fell down upon bed and,
declaring to her husband that she was
going to die, expired almost instantly.
The return of cold weather is again
making our people solicitous about their
newly-planted vegetables. KALLIAs.